Friday, May 30, 2014

If you were not able to be in class for the May test, here is the online version.

There are advantages in taking the test in the classroom--for example, if students did not understand something, I was able to answer questions within reason. Here you will not have the same help. On the other hand, you have fewer limits on time. I hope the different circumstances compensate for each other. In any case, please be honorable and take the test as if you were being watched by me and the other students!)) Time limit: 90 minutes.

First, here are the four audio clips for the four sections of the test. After the audio clips you will find the test itself. (Please contact me if you have trouble with any of the clips; I can give you access to the audio some other way.)

Listen to each clip TWICE. Of course you should feel free to take notes while listening.

1. Every Little Step.

Your browser does not support this audio format.

2. Reality Is Broken

Your browser does not support this audio format.

3. Speaking Proper

Your browser does not support this audio format.

4. The Brain in Love

Your browser does not support this audio format.

Please finish this test by Monday evening, June 2. We will discuss our answers when we meet for class on June 3. (UPDATE: This is a new time. We will meet on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. See schedule on bulletin board.)

Here is the test form. Be sure to push the "continue" button after part 3, and push the "submit" button when you have finished. Thank you!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Are you familiar with the test blanks used for the exam? I will be using them for our tests in case you need some practice using them. (Don't laugh; every year, some students put their answers in the wrong places.) Here are the blanks (at least for now) as shown at the official site:

At the official site, there is also a registration form, but we won't use that; you will write your name and group number at the top of each answer blank.

In India, 40 million people speak English at first-language fluency. How many people have at least some acquaintance with English (as of 2003).

What are the three motives expressed by the three young women who are learning English?

What were the two original dominant languages in the European Parliament?

When Bragg, in Germany, says "the smart money is on the import," what does he mean?

"This kind of globalization could become a cemetery for English." What tendency is Bragg referring to? What is good and bad about this sort of English?

Listen to the Singlish conversation. What are some of this dialect's features?

How can you tell if an English-speaker grew up speaking Gaelic? Why do some bilingual (Gaelic and English speakers) speak Gaelic some of the time and English some of the time?

Why do some call centers prefer to locate in Glasgow?

Glaswegian seems to derive from two different streams of English. As a result, there are words that have two distinct pronunciations--one pronunciation is closer to the language of southern England, the other uniquely Glaswegian. We see children demonstrating these differences. Can you give some examples?

What do bilingual students in Bradford, England, mean when they say "kass me" and "awr"? What words are in the borderline area for the Oxford English Dictionary?

What is the rule for deleting words from the OED?

What provision have we made for communicating with intelligent beings beyond earth?

Thursday, May 15, 2014

I love the lyrics of this song ... here are some of my favorite lines:

I ain't no porcupine, take off your kid gloves ... are you ready for the thing called love?Whether your sunglasses are off or on, you only see the world you make

Here is a recent performance of this song--Bonnie Raitt on stage with the song's writer, John Hiatt:

Bonnie Raitt's "official" music video version of this song. Yes, it's a bit cheesy, but you get some good glimpses of Bonnie's bottleneck guitar playing.

Words by John Hiatt:

Don't have to humble yourself to me
I ain't your judge or your king
Baby, you know I ain't no Queen of Sheba
We may not even have our dignity, this could just be a powerful thing
Baby we can choose you know we ain't no amoeba

Chorus: Are you ready for the thing called love
Don't come from me and you, it comes from up above
I ain't no porcupine, take off your kid gloves
Are you ready for the thing called love

I ain't no icon carved out of soap
Sent here to clean up your reputation
Baby, you know you ain't no Prince Charming
We can live in fear or act out of hope
For some kind of peaceful situation
Baby, how come the cry of love is so alarming

Chorus

Ugly ducklings don't turn into swans
And glide off down the lake
Whether your sunglasses are off or on
You only see the world you make

Chorus

Are you ready for the thing called love
… Are you ready for it …
Are you ready for love, baby
Oooh yeah babe
Are you ready for love

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen-friend Tom who writes:

I rarely have dreams. But yesterday I had a very interesting dream. I was on a ship in a huge storm. It was chaos. Then I saw a wall of water ahead of us−it fell on our ship and broke it like a mirror. I found myself on an island, where I began living like Robinson Crusoe.How often do you dream? Can you tell me about a dream? Do you sometimes try to dream the same dream again?My brother bought us two tickets to the cinema.